Nadal again wins Rome Masters

Daily News Staff and Wire Reports

Posted: May 03, 2010

Rafael Nadal has won his fifth Rome Masters title in 6 years, withstanding two rain delays to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer yesterday, 7-5, 6-2.

Nadal improved to 10-0 on clay this year and signaled he's back to dominating on his preferred surface after a series of injuries. He won the Monte Carlo Masters 2 weeks ago to end an 11-month title drought.

"I didn't play at the level I did in Monte Carlo, but I'm still winning and that's the important thing," Nadal said. "I'm probably more happy winning without playing [my] best. It was more of a mental thing."

Nadal showed no signs of fatigue after pulling out a long, three-set win over Ernests Gulbis in the semifinals a day earlier.

With the 17th Masters Series title of his career, Nadal matched Andre Agassi's record. Agassi achieved the feat at age 34, while Nadal is only 23.

In other tennis news:

* Justine Henin won her first title since coming out of retirement, defeating Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.

* Serena Williams will return to play at this week's Italian Open after a knee injury that kept her sidelined since winning the Australian Open in January. Also returning will be her sister Venus, who has missed the last month with a knee injury.

Sport Stops

* Columbia hired Saint Mary's assistant Kyle Smith as its men's basketball coach. The 40-year-old Smith replaced Joe Jones, who left to become a Boston College assistant.

* A suspicious device near the finish line of the Pittsburgh Marathon prompted police to briefly stop the race after it had begun. The device was disabled and police said it was not believed to have been an actual explosive.

* Usain Bolt won the 200 meters in the Jamaica International Invitational in 19.56 seconds, the fourth-fastest time ever.

Philly File

* Sophomore Temi Adebayo will transfer to Philadelphia University from Saint Joseph's. Adebayo, a 6-11 center from Ibadan, Nigeria, played in 15 games in his 2 years with the Hawks, averaging 2.0 minutes per game.

* Emma Spiro scored three goals to lead Penn (13-3) past Dartmouth, 9-8, for the Ivy League women's lacrosse tournament title and an automatic bird into the NCAA tournament.

* Temple's women's track team won the Atlantic 10 outdoor championships in Amherst, Mass., for its first title in school history. Temple's men finished second, its best showing ever.